Syria's army said its air defense shot down Israeli missiles fired at the surroundings of the capital Damascus from the Golan Heights on Sunday evening. Other missiles not intercepted caused some damage, the army said in a statement. The Israeli army declined to comment.
More stories:
Syrian opposition outlets reported that Israel has carried out two rounds of airstrikes on targets in the rural parts of Damascus. Syrian media outlets reported that the Damascus airport was attacked, as well as targets in the town of Sayyidah Zaynab and in Quneitra.
Missiles intercepted over Damascus
The Syrian Center for Human Rights, a London-based opposition war monitor, also claimed that the attacks were aimed at sites in those areas, which house command nodes and weapons depots belonging to Hezbollah forces and Iranian-backed militias. It was further reported that the strikes targeted air defense force sites, and there was no immediate information on casualties.
Emad Qariqa, the new commander of Hamas' Shijaiyah battalion, was killed in an airstrike, the IDF and Shin Bet said in a joint statement Sunday evening.
Qariqa recently replaced Wissam Farhat, after the latter was killed in an Israeli airstrike on December 2.
Qariqa had served as the deputy commander of the battalion since 2019 and previously trained anti-tank missile operators in the Gaza City Brigade.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday called on Hamas members to lay down their arms and surrender as the IDF continues to make gains within the Gaza Strip.
"In recent days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered to our forces. They are laying down their arms and surrendering themselves to our heroic soldiers. It will take more time, the war is at its peak, but this is the beginning of the end for Hamas," he said.
"I say to the Hamas terrorists: It's over. Don't die for Sinwar. Surrender - now."
The IDF reported Sunday evening that Lieutenant Nethanel Menachem Eitan, 22, from Jerusalem, a search and rescue officer, succumbed to injuries sustained in combat in the northern Gaza Strip on December 8. The army also reported that five other soldiers were seriously wounded fighting in Gaza on Sunday.
Since the collapse of the truce in Gaza, the IDF has attacked over 3,500 terror targets in the Gaza Strip from air, sea and land, and more than 22,000 targets since the onset of hostilities, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported Sunday evening.
According to the army’s data, 1.4 million Gazans have been displaced due to the war, most moving from the territory’s north to its southern parts.
IDF strikes terror targets in Gaza Strip
(Video: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit )
16 View gallery
IDF soldiers operating in Hamas stronghold Shijaiyah
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The military estimates that about 7,000 Hamas members have been killed in the strikes, and it may take weeks to complete the ground operation.
Additionally, the IDF is considering establishing a security zone in Gaza, similar to the one that existed in South Lebanon until May 2000, with positions close to the Gazan border. Furthermore, intelligence assessments reveal that between 50% to 70% of Gazans recently detained by the IDF are neither terrorists nor suspected of terror activities.
Meanwhile, the IDF said Israeli tanks and a fighter jet attacked terrorist infrastructure and a Hezbollah military command center in Lebanese territory.
IDF strike on Hezbollah command center in Lebanon
(Video: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit )
Additionally, an attack helicopter struck a terrorist cell attempting to launch anti-tank missiles toward Israel. Recent hours have also seen several launches from Lebanon toward regions near the border. The IDF is targeting the sources of these firings.
The report came shortly after reports of two rocket attacks targeting Israeli communities near the Lebanese border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left the cabinet meeting Sunday for a 50-minute telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is the first conversation between Netanyahu and Putin since the conversation they had on October 17, in which the prime minister told the Russian president that Israel "will not stop until it destroys the military and governmental capabilities of Hamas."
The prime minister expressed his dissatisfaction with the positions expressed against Israel by Russian representatives at the UN and in other forums, according to a statement from his office. Netanyahu also criticized the dangerous cooperation between Russia and Iran.
16 View gallery
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Photo: EPA/MIKHAEL KLIMENTYEV / SPUTNIK / KREMLIN)
He emphasized that any country that had been struck with a criminal terrorist assault such as Israel experienced would have reacted with no less force than Israel is using. Netanyahu did express his appreciation of the Russian effort to release an Israeli citizen with Russian citizenship and said that Israel would use all means, diplomatic and military alike, to free all hostages. Netanyahu also requested that Russia apply pressure on the Red Cross regarding visits and the delivery of medicines for the hostages.
The Mossad confirmed reports in Cyprus and announced that authorities on the island in cooperation with the organization "thwarted an Iranian terrorist cell that planned to carry out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in Cyprus." It was also reported that "thanks to the anti-terrorist activity and the arrest of the cell by the security services in Cyprus, a lot of information was received that led to the exposure of the threats, the methods of operation, the targets of the attack and the Iranian plan to cause the killing of innocents in Cyprus and in other arenas."
The announcement by Mossad comes after a Cypriot newspaper reported on Sunday that two Iranians were detained in Cyprus for questioning over suspected planning of attacks on Israeli citizens living in Cyprus. The two individuals were believed to be in the early stages of gathering intelligence on potential Israeli targets, the Kathimerini Cyprus newspaper said without citing sources. The paper added that the Iranians were political refugees in contact with a person linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. A senior Cypriot official declined to comment, citing policy on issues concerning national security.
IDF attacks in southern Lebanon
Rocket warning alarms in northern Israel were preceded by massive attacks by the IDF in southern Lebanon, and video and photos released from there show the dramatic bombings. The alarms in the Western Galilee were activated both due to rocket fire, and due to the interception of a suspected enemy aircraft infiltration. It is not yet clear if a drone was intercepted.
Hezbollah later claims that it fired at an IDF outpost at 10:00 a.m., close to the time when rocket alert sirens were sounded in the Western Galilee. A short time later, the Al-Mayadeen network, affiliated with the Lebanese terrorist organization, reported an attack on another outpost in Israeli territory. It is not clear if the claim is credible.
Following the attacks, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit reported later on Sunday that “Two IDF soldiers were moderately injured, and a number of additional soldiers were lightly injured from shrapnel and smoke inhalation,” in clashes near the Lebanon border. “Following the sirens that sounded in the Western Galilee area in northern Israel, suspicious aerial targets that crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory were identified and two targets were successfully intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array,” the statement added.
Some 40 soldiers in serious condition currently are being treated in hospitals across Israel, with 211 additional troops in moderate condition and 165 in minor condition, according to the IDF.
Destruction in Palestine Square in Gaza City, and the Israeli flag flying in the center
(Photo: Reuters)
The battles in the Gaza Strip continued at full intensity over the weekend, and at the same time Israel received a 'political umbrella' from the United Nations in the form of a veto on a Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in Israel's war on Hamas - but the clock is ticking.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rebuffed on Sunday international calls to end the Gaza war, describing them as inconsistent with supporting the war's aim of eliminating Hamas. Briefing his cabinet, Netanyahu said he had told the leaders of France, Germany and other countries: "You cannot on the one hand support the elimination of Hamas and on the other pressure us to end the war, which would prevent the elimination of Hamas."
Meanwhile, Mohammad Nazzal, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said that there will be no negotiations with Israel "unless there is a complete cease-fire". According to Nazzal: "Netanyahu insists on continuing the fighting because the U.S., Britain and Germany see the cease-fire as a defeat for Israel. Nazzal referred to the statement of IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari that "the Hamas leadership is disconnected from the situation on the ground," and noted: "The political and military leadership in Israel is disconnected from reality, not Hamas."
A political source said that the United States is formulating a response in the form of sending a multinational naval force to strengthen freedom of navigation in the Red Sea. According to the source, Israel welcomed this and conveyed to the U.S. and the international community a message saying that "without such an effective response, we will not be able to put up with a continuous violation of the Houthis on our freedom of navigation, and we will have to act on our own."
Over the past day, IDF ground, aerial and naval forces continued to strike terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, striking over 250 terror targets, according to the IDF. In recent hours, IDF troops located and destroyed weapons stocks, carried out targeted raids on military sites, destroyed underground terror tunnel shafts and thwarted armed terrorist cells planning to attack IDF troops.
Overnight, an IDF fighter jet directed by ground troops struck a Hamas military communications site located adjacent to a mosque in the southern Gaza Strip. Following the strike, the troops conducted a targeted raid on the site. Over the past day, IDF troops fired with precise munitions and struck underground tunnel shafts in Khan Yunis. In addition, a drone assisted IDF troops in identifying an armed terrorist cell that planned to attack additional IDF troops forces in the area. The terrorist cell was eliminated.
During IDF activity in Shijaiyah, IDF troops conducted a targeted raid on a Hamas military command center, and located numerous weapons used by the terrorist organization, including AK-47 rifles, grenades, anti-tank missile launchers, ammunition and additional military equipment. Overnight, the IAF struck terror infrastructure in which terrorists operated and underground tunnel shafts in Khan Yunis.
Overnight, a French destroyer intercepted two drones that were moving toward it in the Red Sea, off the coast of Yemen, the French Navy announced. According to the French military, the two interceptions took place at 11:30 p.m. Saturday night and at 1:30 a.m. Sunday (Yemen time). In addition, the incident occurred 110 km off the coast of Yemen, near the port city of Al Hudaydah, which is under the control of the Houthi rebels.
The incident occurred hours after the Houthi rebels in Yemen announced intend to prevent the passage of any ship making its way to Israel through the Red Sea, regardless of their nationality, and warned all international shipping companies against dealing with Israeli ports.
A Houthi military spokesperson said all ships sailing to Israeli ports are banned from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
"If Gaza does not receive the food and medicine it needs, all ships in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports, regardless of their nationality, will become a target for our armed forces," the spokesperson said in a statement.
Dozens of terrorists surrendered and turned themselves in over the weekend. In video and photos leaked on Saturday from northern Gaza, one of the terrorists is seen moving slowly and carrying a weapon in raised hands, placing it carefully according to the soldiers' instructions. IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari said Saturday night that according to the information provided by the Hamas terrorists who surrendered and were interrogated, it appears that their situation in the field is difficult, and that Hamas head Yahya Sinwar and the Hamas leadership "deny the reality even though they are informed of the details."
IDF Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi, also commented on the images on Saturday night.
“I see the achievements every day. We are seeing every day more and more terror operatives killed, more and more terror operatives wounded, and in recent days we’re seeing terrorists surrendering — a sign of the disintegration of the system, a sign that we need to push harder,” Halevi said. He added that: "Great efforts are being made to bring back the hostages. It's complicated and difficult, but there is no greater light than that."
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit released on Saturday evening the names of five more fallen soldiers in the war against Hamas. They are: Master Sergeant (res.) Liav Atiya, 25, a soldier in the 6623rd Battalion, from Be'er Sheva. Master Sergeant (res.) Omri Ben Shachar, 25, a soldier in the 6623rd Battalion, from Givatayim. Sergeant Maor Cohen Eisenkot, 19, a soldier in the Golani Braide's 12th Battalion, from Eilat. Staff Sergeant Jonatan Dean Haim, 25, a soldier from the Combat Engineering Crops' 603rd Battalion from Ramat Gan.
16 View gallery
Soldiers killed in battle: Master Sergeant (res.) Liav Atiya, Master Sergeant (res.) Omri Ben Shachar, Staff Sergeant Jonatan Dean Haim, Ser
(Photos: IDF Spokesperson's Unit, Instagram)
The IDF added that Sergeant Haim Meir Eden, 20, a soldier from the 13th Battalion from Rehovot - who was injured in Hamas' attack on October 7 - succumbed to his wounds. In addition, 13 soldiers were seriously injured in the battles in the Gaza Strip, and two more were seriously injured on the Lebanese border.
Also on Saturday, University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill resigned after the storm and much criticism that was hurled at her following the hearing last week in the U.S. House of Representatives, in which she refused to state that calling for the genocide of Jews is necessarily a violation of the university's code of conduct. She later issued a clarification, but this did not satisfy her critics, and some donors threatened to stop funding the university.
"It has been my privilege to serve as president of this remarkable institution. It has been an honor working with the faculty," Magill said in the statement announcing her resignation, adding that she will remain in a tenured position following her replacement.
In addition, Scott Bok, chair of the University of Pennsylvania’s Board of Trustees, also resigned on Saturday. Moments after Magill announced her resignation, Bok said that he would also step down, citing the congressional hearing scandal.
“Today, following the resignation of the University of Pennsylvania’s President and related Board of Trustee meetings, I submitted my resignation as Chair of the University’s Board of Trustees, effective immediately,” Bok said, according to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “While I was asked to remain in that role for the remainder of my term in order to help with the presidential transition, I concluded that, for me, now was the right time to depart.”
16 View gallery
Smoke billows following an IDF attack in the Khan Younis area of the Gaza Strip early in the morning on December 10
(Photo: SAID KHATIB / AFP)
Senior American officials clarified that Israel does not have a deadline for fighting its war against Hamas, but there is an expectation that the war at the current pace and intensity will stop by the end of the year and then be more focused. One official said that it would obviously take time for Israel to eliminate Hamas, just as it took the U.S. years to eliminate ISIS. The statements came after the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement on Saturday night in which he thanked the United States for its vote in the Security Council.
"I greatly appreciate the correct stance that the US has taken in the UN Security Council," Netanyahu said in the statement. "The other countries need to understand that, on the one hand, it is impossible to support the elimination of Hamas while, on the other hand, calling for a halt to the war, which will prevent the elimination of Hamas. Therefore, Israel will continue our just war to eliminate Hamas and achieve the other goals of the war that we have set."
16 View gallery
Hanukkah menorahs decorated by children evacuated from southern Israel were sent to soldiers to light in Gaza
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Meanwhile, IDF soldiers lit approximately 800 decorated menorahs, which were delivered to them in Gaza along with messages of encouragement from the home front. The menorahs were decorated for the forces by the children of the communities evacuated from the south, the Gaza Strip, and the northern border, and they were sent to the soldiers in the Gaza Strip together with boxes of sweets and menorahs.
The IDF spokesman said that "alongside the menorahs, moving messages and letters were sent, with the aim of strengthening the spirit of the fighters and reminding them that the people of Israel stand behind them and are waiting for them at home."
First published: 09:41, 12.10.23